Black Sticks women face decider vs Australia
- Dave Worsley
- Sep 7
- 2 min read
Australia scored two wins from two games on the second day of the Oceania Cup to take the men's series and put the women's competition to a decider.
Grace O’Hanlon was outstanding once again in goal for the Black Sticks women, making several big saves across all four quarters.
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Riana Pho stepped up with a big defensive effort in the second quarter, cutting off a dangerous shot in front of an open goal, one of the moments of the match.
New Zealand’s best chance came from a full-length counter attack in the third quarter, but the final pass just didn’t connect in the circle.
With five minutes to go the Hockeyroos found a breakthrough from a deflection off a penalty corner. Despite a strong push in the final stages, the Black Sticks couldn’t find the equaliser and the match finished 1–0 to Australia.
A place at the 2026 World Cup on the line in on the line in the winner-take-all final
The men's Black Sticks were beaten 4-1 after they created chances of their own, and goalkeeper Matthew Ruetsch came up some big saves.
Play was briefly halted in the second quarter when a pitch marker lifted and created a hole, a rare scene at this level. After repairs, the Australian Kookaburras picked up the pace and added two more goals before finishing the match 4–1.
The final say belonged to New Zealand, with Jonty Elmes, the Under-21 squad member, scoring his 9th senior international goal from a late penalty corner.
